Danira.
by E. Werner.
I.
The storm had lasted all night. Not until early dawn did the gale lessen and the towering billows of the sea begin to subside.
The steamer, which had undergone a tolerably severe conflict with wind and waves, was just running into the sheltering harbor, at whose end appeared her destined port, a picturesquely situated town, dominated by a strong citadel on a rocky height.
In the bow stood a young officer in the uniform of the Austrian Imperial Cha.s.seurs, who, spy-gla.s.s in hand, was scanning the scene. The light fatigue cap covering his thick, fair hair, shaded a face that harmonized perfectly with his manly bearing. Every feature was grave, firm, resolute, and the clear light-brown eyes, with their quiet, searching gaze, suited the countenance. Yet one might have desired a little more life and animation; the grave, pa.s.sionless repose of a face so youthful produced an almost chilling impression. A heavy step was heard on the cabin stairs, and directly after a young soldier, who wore the same uniform, approached. The steamer still rocked so much that he had some difficulty in crossing the deck to his officer, who now closed the gla.s.s and turned toward him.
"Well, George, what are the men doing?" he asked. "How are things going down below?"
"It"s awful, lieutenant," was the reply. "They are still so sea-sick that they can neither hear nor see. You and I are the only ones who have kept up."
"I suppose you are very proud that we two are the only ones who have proved ourselves good sailors?" said the officer, with a flitting smile.
"I should think so," answered George. "When a man has seen nothing but mountains all his life, it"s no small matter to toss about on this confounded glittering blue sea, as we have done for three days and nights. This Cattaro is surely almost at the end of the world."
He spoke in the purest Tyrolese dialect, and now stationed himself close behind the officer with a familiarity that implied some closer relation than the tie between a subaltern and his commander.
George was a handsome, st.u.r.dy fellow, with curly black hair and a fresh, sun-burnt face, in which a pair of black eyes sparkled boldly and merrily. At present, however, they were scanning with evident curiosity the goal of the journey which the steamer was now approaching.
The open sea had already disappeared, and nearer and darker towered the gigantic peaks which had been visible in the distance since early dawn.
They seemed to rise from the water in every direction and bar the ship"s way, but a narrow pa.s.sage between the cliffs opened like a huge gloomy gate, and the whole extent of the harbor appeared before the vessel as she steered in.
The foaming, surging waves had been left outside, and the water lay almost motionless, encircled by the chain of mountains surrounding it.
The sun was already struggling with the dispersing storm-clouds; ever and anon golden shafts darted through them and danced upon the waves, and broad, shimmering rays of light gleamed through the mist, but the fog still rested in dense ma.s.ses over the city, and the citadel was scarcely visible in the shadow of the clouds gathered around it.
"A magnificent view!" said the young officer in a low tone, more to himself than to his companion, but the latter a.s.sumed a very contemptuous air.
"Pshaw, they"re not like our Tyrolese mountains! No forests, no streams, not a human habitation up there! This is surely the beginning of the wilderness, and if we once get in there we"ll never come out alive."
He sighed so heavily that the lieutenant frowned and glanced angrily at him.
"What does this mean, George? Are you losing heart? You were no peace-maker at home. Wherever there was a brawl, George Moosbach was sure to be in it."
"Yes, that he was!" George a.s.sented with great satisfaction. "But it was only sport! Still, if we were going to fight honest Christians I should have no objection to doing it in earnest. We should at least be among our own people, and if a man were killed he would have Christian burial, but fighting these savages is no joke. I"ve been told that they cut off the noses of their enemies--if they have them, of course--and both ears to boot, and that"s certainly a very disagreeable custom."
"Nonsense! You and your comrades have imposed upon each other by all sorts of stories, and now swear to them as is your custom."
"But Baroness von Steinach was terribly frightened when the marching orders came. She sent for me to come to the castle and made me promise never to leave your side, Herr Gerald--beg pardon, Herr Lieutenant, I meant to say."
"Oh! use the old name, we are not on duty now," replied Gerald; "respect for your lieutenant doesn"t agree with the memories of our boyhood, when we were playfellows. So my mother sent for you? Yes, she is always anxious about the life of her only son, and can never accustom herself to the thought that danger is part of the soldier"s trade. But there is the port in sight! Go to your comrades, they have probably nearly recovered, the water is smooth here."
"Yes, Herr Lieutenant!" replied George, drawing himself up with a military salute and marching off, while Gerald von Steinbach again raised his spy-gla.s.s.
Meantime the steamer had been sighted from the sh.o.r.e, and its appearance caused an eager stir near the harbor. True, ships bringing troops to this distant frontier of the empire were now daily arriving; still it was an event, and a motley crowd in which, however, uniforms predominated, thronged the landing-place to greet the new arrivals.
Not far from the sh.o.r.e was a fine residence overlooking the bay. It was the home of the commander of the garrison, and at the window stood a young lady, gazing intently through the gradually dispersing fog at the approaching ship.
The graceful figure framed by the window looked like a picture against the dark background of the room, a picture in which everything was bright and sunny, the rosy, laughing face, the fair curling locks, the blue eyes radiant with mirth.
There was a great deal of arrogance and self-will in the charming little face, and the extremely elegant attire which, in this out-of-the-way place, displayed the very latest fashion prevailing in the capital, showed that vanity was not a total stranger to the young lady. Yet there was something bewitching in the little elfin figure that leaned so gracefully out of the window, and now turned with every sign of impatience.
"The steamer hardly moves to-day," she said, angrily. "It has been in sight for more than half an hour. It ought to have reached the landing-place long ago, and is still floating on the waves yonder.
Danira, for heaven"s sake, put down that book! I can"t bear to see you reading so indifferently, while I am almost dying with curiosity."
The person addressed laid the book aside and glanced hastily out of the window. She was probably about the same age--neither of the girls could have been more than seventeen--but it would have been hard to find a greater contrast than the pair presented.
There was something foreign in Danira"s appearance which did not seem to suit either her fashionable dress or her surroundings. Her face was dark as if burned by a scorching sun, and yet pale, for the cheeks showed scarcely a tinge of color. The luxuriant braids, blue-black in hue, seemed to yield reluctantly to the constraint of being fastened on the head; they looked as though they must fall by their own weight and float unconfined.
Her long dark lashes were usually lowered, but when raised, revealed a pair of large dark eyes, full of dewy radiance. Their expression was cold and careless, yet their depths concealed a light ardent and glowing as the rays of the Southern sun, which had evidently kissed them.
The girl"s voice too had a peculiar tone, deep yet musical, and the German words, though spoken with perfect fluency, had a slight trace of the foreign air which characterized her whole appearance.
"The steamer will be here in fifteen minutes," she said. "It is coming at the usual time. Are you so impatient to see your betrothed bridegroom, Edith?"
Edith tossed her little head. "Well, what if I am! We have become almost strangers to each other. I was a child when we left home, and Gerald only came from the military school to bid us good-bye. He was a handsome fellow then--I remember him perfectly--but a little priggish, rather stupid, and possessed of a horrible talent for lecturing. But I"ll cure him of that most thoroughly."
"Do you intend to "cure" your future husband before you have ever seen him?" asked Danira, with a tinge of sarcasm. "Perhaps he isn"t so yielding as your father."
Edith laughed. "Oh! Papa is sometimes stern enough to other people--yet I do as I please with him, and it will be the same with Gerald. Do you like his picture?"
She took a large photograph from the writing-table and held it toward Danira, who, with a hasty glance at it, answered in a curt, positive tone, "No."
Edith"s blue eyes opened wide in amazement.
"What, you don"t like this picture? This face with its handsome, regular features----"
"And eyes as cold as ice! That man has never loved, his glance says so."
"Well, he must learn then! That shall be my task. Of course I shall see little enough at first of this lieutenant, who has been sent campaigning and courting at the same time. He must go and fight your countrymen for weeks up in the mountains before he can pay proper attention to me. I hope it won"t be long ere the bands of insurgents are scattered and destroyed. I shall tell Gerald that he must hasten the victory and his return on pain of my displeasure."
There was only saucy mirth in the words, nothing more, but Danira seemed to find a different meaning. Her eyes flashed, and in a voice that sounded almost cutting, she replied:
"Better tell him to take care that he does not lose up yonder all hope of return and marriage--forever!"
Edith gazed at her a few seconds, perplexed and startled, then indignantly exclaimed:
"I believe you are quite capable of wishing it. Is it possible that you still care for those savages, who have not troubled themselves about you since your childhood? Papa is perfectly right when he says you have no affection, no grat.i.tude, in spite of all he has done for you."
A half bitter, half grieved expression hovered around Danira"s lips as she heard these reproaches. "Grat.i.tude!" she repeated, in a low tone.
"You do not know how hard a duty grat.i.tude is, when it is required."